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Chapter 1: What Is A Drive? 1
Chapter 1: What Is A Drive? 1
What is a Drive?
In the most generic sense, a drive is a device that controls speed, torque,
direction, and the resulting horsepower of a system. There are many different types of drives, and they will be discussed later in this chapter. For
now, we will focus on the reasons for drive use in our industrial and commercial environments. To appreciate the use and benefits of any type of
drive, we need to look at a generic application and determine how the system could be improved.
Figure 1-1 shows a prime candidate for a variable-speed drivea conveyor in a manufacturing plant.
Production
Warehouse
Fixed Speed
Motor
Figure 1-1. Generic conveyor system
In Figure 1-1, we can see that the conveyors main intent is to move products from production to the warehouse. A typical way to move products is
by means of a motor. The generic motor on this conveyor operates at only
one speed. With only one speed of motion, this type of manufacturing system has its drawbacks.
The products can reach the warehouse only in a given timeframe. There is
no way to gradually increase the conveyor speed. If it takes the motor a
very short time to accelerate, the boxes may fall off the conveyor because
of the accelerating forces. We will look at several factors that lead to the
use of a variable-speed drive: efficiency gains, process changes and
improvements, and system coordination.
Efficiency Gains
We may view the system in Figure 1-1 as very inefficient. We are locked
into whatever efficiencies the motor can provide, given a somewhat variable amount of loading. If the motor in Figure 1-1 happened to be an
alternating current (AC) motor, typically, the following would be true:
1.
The more load on a motor, the more efficient that motor is.
2.
The higher the motors horsepower (HP) rating, the higher the
efficiency.
3.
The higher the operating speed, the more efficient the motor.
We will cover the physical makeup of AC and direct current (DC) motors
in more detail in Chapter 3. For now, we will use an AC motor to explain
the effects of efficiency on the total system.
As seen in Figure 1-2, efficiencies vary as indicated above.
Efficiency at 100 % Rated Load
(Approx. Rated Power)
100
Motor
Efficiency (%) 90
95% (200HP)
80
90% (20HP)
70
85% (7.5HP)
60
50
80% (3HP)
40
75% (2HP)
30
70% (1HP)
20
10
0
25
50
75
100
125
Motor Load
(% of Rated Load)
VT drive
Efficiency
50
(% of
40
Rated
Value)
30
CT System
Drive & Motor
Efficiency
20
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 100
Production
Industrial
Oven
Warehouse
Fixed Speed
Motor
System Coordination
The system shown in Figure 1-4 is typical of many manually operated processes. An operator turns on the system and turns it off for maintenance or
at the completion of the production cycle. However, in an age of increased
flexibility requirements, few processes are manually operated. Production
cycles are constantly monitored by some type of computer system.
Computer systems will automatically oversee the process and correct for
load fluctuations, material density, and size requirements. In industrial
processes, the use of PLCs (programmable logic controllers) is typical. Programmable logic controllers are beyond the scope of this book, but will be
addressed at various points. Figure 1-5 illustrates a conveyor system that is
manually operated by a control station.
Production
Industrial
Oven
Warehouse
Operator
Station
Fixed Speed
Motor
Power Source
(Supplies power to the
drive)
Drive
Motor
(Controls the
speed, torque
and direction
of the motor)
(Changes
one form
of energy
to rotating
energy)
Coupler
Machine
Controller
(Generates
and sends
a reference
to the drive)
(Connects
the motor
to the
machine)
(Device that
performs the
work)
To understand a simple drive system, we will start at the end of the system
and move backward. We will devote individual sections of this book to
each of the basic components listed in Figure 1-6. For now, the intent is to
develop a basic understanding of a drive system. A foundation will be
built, which will allow more complex concepts to be discussed in later
chapters.
Machine
The essence of any drive system is the application, or machine. This is the
heart of the system, since it ultimately needs to perform the work. Consider the machinethe application. It could be a conveyor, a press, a packaging machine, or literally hundreds of applications that operate at
variable speed.
Coupler
The coupler is the device that connects the machine to the motor. Couplers come in all shapes and sizes. Its basic task is to make a solid connection between the motor and the machine. Couplers may accept one
diameter of motor shaft and convert the output to another size shaft. In
some cases, the coupler may actually be a device called a gearbox, which
may include some type of speed-reducing or speed-increasing gears. Couplers could also be considered matching devices because of their ability to
deliver power smoothly to the machine. To a certain extent, this device
can also cushion shocks delivered by the motor to the machine.
Motor
This device changes one form of energy to rotating mechanical energy. It
can be considered the prime mover because it takes power from the drive
unit and translates it into motion. As we will see shortly, there are several
types of motors using various forms of energy. In this book, we will discuss
mechanical, hydraulic, AC, and DC motors. The size of the motor usually
dictates the amount of rotating motion it can generate from incoming
power. We will see later that there are a few exceptions to this principle.
Drive
The drive can be considered the heart of the whole system. This section
controls the speed, torque, direction, and resulting horsepower of the
motor. The drive is very similar in nature to an automobile drive system.
The transmission and drive shaft controls the speed, direction, and power
delivered to the wheels. Much of this book will be devoted to AC and DC
drives. However, we will take a brief look at other types of drive systems
that exist in industry.
Power Source
The drive must have a source of power to operate effectively. If the drive is
electrical, it must have either single- or three-phase power available. The
drive then accepts this power and modifies it to an output that is usable by
the motor. If the drive is hydraulic, the power source could be considered
the hydraulic-fluid reservoir, since it supplies the drive with the form of
power it needs to accomplish the job.
Controller
The controller supplies a reference signal to the drive unit. Typically controllers are electronic and supply a small voltage or current signal to the
drive. The larger the signal, the more power the drive generates, and the
faster the motor rotates. In many cases, the controller is an automatic
device such as a computer. The computer has the ability to take in signals
from external devices such as switches or sensors. The controller then processes the signals, does calculations based on the sensor inputs, and generates a reference signal. This output reference signal is usually a speed signal
to tell the drive how much power to generate. As we will see in later chapters, this is not always the case. The controller could generate an output
signal to tell the drive how much power to generate in order to control
motor torque or motor shaft position. The operator station in Figure 1-5
can also be considered a controller. Instead of being an automatic device,
the operator station provides a signal based on a manually operated switch
or speed control set by a human operator.
Mechanical
Mechanical variable-speed drives were probably the first type of drive to
make their way into the industrial environment. Figure 1-7 shows a basic
mechanical variable-speed drive.
Constant
Speed
AC
Motor
Variable Speed
Output
Coupler
Years ago, the benefits of this type of drive were low cost and the ability to
easily service the unit. Many technicians liked to work on mechanical
problems. The malfunction was rather obvious. However, the benefits of
yesterday have turned into the limitations of today. Mechanical devices
have a tendency to break downrequiring maintenance and downtime.
The efficiency of the unit can range from 90% down to 50% or lower. This
is due to the eventual slipping of the belt on the pulleys (sometimes called
sheaves). Sometimes the speed range can be a limitation because of fixed
diameter settings, a characteristic of the mechanics of the device. Size can
also be a limitation. Typically floor-mounted, this device sometimes stood
35 feet tall for general applications. Size and weight could prohibit the
use of this device in areas that would be required for mounting a drive.
Hydraulic Drives
Hydraulic drives have been, and continue to be, the workhorse of many
metals processing and manufacturing applications. The hydraulic motors
small size makes it ideal for situations where high power is needed in very
tight locations. In fact, the hydraulic motors size is 1/41/3 the size of an
equivalent power electric motor. Figure 1-8 indicates a hydraulic drive.
Control
Valve
Constant
Speed AC
Motor
Coupler
Pump
Hydraulic
Motor
Variable Speed
Output
Fluid
Resevoir
Figure 1-8. Hydraulic drive
speed range and has an extremely small size compare to most AC motors
of the same power.
However, this type of system has several major limitations. The most limiting factor of this system is the need for hydraulic hoses, fittings, and fluid.
This system is inherently prone to leaks, leading to high maintenance
costs. In addition, there is virtually no way to connect this system to an
electronic controller. Automatic valve-type controls have been developed,
but their use is limited in todays high-speed manufacturing environment.
Eddy-Current Drives
Eddy-current drives have their roots in the heavy machinery part of
industry. Grinding wheels are prime candidates for eddy-current drives.
This system uses an AC-to-DC power-conversion process, which allows
variable shaft speeds, depending on the amount of power converted. Figure 1-9 indicates a simple eddy-current drive system.
10
Rotating DC Drives
This system dates back to the mid 1940s. The system also gained the name
MG set, which stands for motorgenerator set. As seen in Figure 1-10,
that description is quite accurate.
Coupler
Constant Speed
AC Motor
Gen. Speed
Reference
(Pot)
DC Motor
Speed
Reference
(Pot)
DC
Generator
Gen.
Field
Coils
DC
Motor
Motor
Field
Coils
Field
Exciter
Motor Field
Exciter
11
This system has several benefits. Years ago in the rotating machinery
industry, this equipment was very traditional equipment. This system also
had the ability to control speed accurately and had a wide speed range. It
typically used motors and generator equipment that had a very large overload capacity, compared with modern-day motors.
Today, a system of this type, however, would carry several limitations.
Because of the need for three rotating units (AC motor, DC generator, and
DC motor), this system is prone to maintenance issues. DC equipment
uses devices called brushes, which transfer power from one circuit to the
other. These devices need periodic replacement, meaning the machine
needs to be shut down. This system is also larger than many of the other
variable-speed units. In todays industrial environment, replacement parts
are harder to find. The early units used a power conversion device called a
vacuum tube (high-temperature electrical conduction), which is very difficult to acquire as a spare part. As to be expected, three rotating units
increases the maintenance required on mechanical parts.
3
Phase
AC
DC
Drive
DC
Motor
Motor
Field
Coils
Speed Reference
(Pot)
Motor
Field
Exciter
12
3
Phase
AC
13
AC
Drive
AC
Motor
Speed Reference
(Pot)
When we look closer at the principles involved, we find that the AC drive
essentially changes AC power to DC power. The DC power is then filtered
and changed back to AC power but in a variable voltage and frequency
format. The front end section consists of diodes. Diodes change AC power
to DC power. A filter circuit then cleans up the DC waveform and sends it
to the output section. The output section then inverts the DC power back
to AC. This is accomplished through a series of transistors. These are special transistors that only turn on or turn off. The sequence and length in
which these transistors turn on will determine the drive output and ultimately the speed of the motor.
With this type of variable-speed system, there are more benefits than limitations. When compared with DC drives, small-sized AC drives are equal
to or lower in cost (5 HP or less). The efficiency of power conversion is
comparable to that of DC drives. Also comparable is the ability to be controlled remotely and to have various monitor devices connected. Because
of modern transistor technology, the size of the AC drive is equal to or
even smaller than that of an equal horsepower DC drive (125150 HP or
less). One major advantage of AC drives is the ability to operate an AC
motor in bypass mode. This means that while the drive is not functioning,
the motor can still be operating, essentially across line power. The motor
will be operating at full speed because of the line power input. But the
benefit would be that the system continues to operate with little or no
downtime.
There may be a few limitations when considering AC drive technology.
With low horsepower units (above the 25- to 30-HP range), AC drives
may carry a higher purchase price. However, the installation costs may be
less because of less wiring (there is no separate field exciter). Some applications, such as printing and extrusion, lend themselves to DC technology.
Comparable AC drives may need to be sized 1 or 2 HP frame sizes higher
to accommodate the possible overload requirements. Chapter 4, section
Torque Control AC Drives is devoted to flux vector and torque-controlled AC drives. More detail is presented on the issue of overload, torque
14
Chapter Review
There are various types of variable-speed drive systems. There are many
reasons to use variable-speed drives, but basically they fall into three categories: efficiency gains, process changes and improvements, and system
coordination. For example, efficiency of AC motors can be quite high,
which reduces the overall monthly cost of operating the system. Variablespeed drives also allow for changes in the process, as well as process
improvements. Some processes operate at less than full speed, so optimum
product quality can be achieved. System coordination is a major factor in
todays industrial environment. AC- and DC-drive systems are typically
applied in a manufacturing process. Computers control the entire process,
from infeed rate to output of the machine. Todays electronic drives offer
easy connection to many types of automated equipment.
A generic drive system includes the following components: machine, coupler, motor, drive, controller, and power source. No matter what type of
system is discussed, these main components are involved.
Various types of variable-speed drives are available in industry. The basic
categories are mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical/electronic. Electronic
drives can be further divided into the following categories: eddy current,
rotating DC, DC converters, and variable-frequency AC.
Each type of variable-speed drive system has its set of benefits and limitations. The trend today is moving away from mechanical and hydraulic
types of variable-speed systems, and toward electronic systems. The reasons are again identified in the ability to control the process by computerized systems. This also allows for quick changes in the process to meet the
rigorous demands of production schedules.
What is a drive?
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